National League

Oct 06 2024

Opening night wins for defending champions Griffith College Éanna and Killester

Griffith College Éanna got the defence of their Men’s Super League title off to a winning start after they surmounted the challenge of 2022/23 champions, Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU 75-56 in the MTU Arena on Saturday evening, while defending Women’s Super League champions, Killester, did likewise, edging a tough SETU Waterford Wildcats 83-79 in the Oblate Hall.

Griffith College Éanna made a winning start to their Men’s Super League title defence as they mounted a late surge to see off 2022/23 champions, Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU 75-56 on Saturday evening in the MTU Arena.

The long road to National League glory starts here 🛣️#BISL | #BITV pic.twitter.com/d6xjpNRW8g
— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) October 5, 2024

While the Dublin side rocketed into an 18-point advantage by the close of the first quarter, Ballincollig managed to recoup 11 in the second, thanks in no small measure to Todd Wolfe, who finished with a game-high 22 points.

Yet a good spread of double-digit scoring from Neil Lynch (17), Stefan Desnica (15), Kristijan Andabaka (15) and Josh Wilson (11) helped Éanna steady the ship and outscore their opponents by 11 in the closing quarter to help secure some early spoils.

“It's great to get off to a winning start, but I was more impressed with the squad's attitude during the game” said Griffith College Éanna head coach, Darren McGovern. “They stuck to the plan and executed really well for most of the game.

“We were missing Sean Jenkins and Jim Gormley, recovering from injury, so when they’re back flying fit, that will improve us a lot. Now the focus shifts to a tough double header next weekend” he said.

A huge second quarter, in which they outscored their opponents by 17, set Energywise Ireland Neptune on track for a hard-fought 96-87 win over Belfast Star in Newforge Sports Complex.

The hosts, under the leadership of new head coach, Rafi Olmassakian, led by 11 midway through the opening quarter, thanks in no small part to heavy scoring from Maurice Jones (25) and Conor Quinn (22).

Yet, with Ar’mond Davis and Darragh O’Sullivan totalling 48 points between them on the night, the Cork side battled their way back into a 12-point advantage by the break and managed to keep Star at bay throughout the second half to ensure a winning return to the club for head coach, Pat Price who last led the team in 2015.

A strong finish that saw them take the fourth quarter by 11 points, proved essential in seeing Flexachem KCYMS record a 75-64 success on the road against UCD Marian.

 Clayton Riggs Ladine of Flexachem KCYMS in action against UCD Marian at the UCD Sports Centre

Jeffery Okeke emerged the game’s top scorer on 25 points, while Nathaniel Powell, Beni Fungula and Jordan Blount amassed a total of 28 rebounds that helped undo the newly-promoted, Dublin side.

Zvonimir Cutuk drained a bucket 16 seconds from time to take his personal tally to 32 points and clinch a dramatic 79-77 triumph for Maree away to Templeogue in Nord Anglia on Saturday night.

A huge haul of 57 points for Tavias Fagan and Immanuel Allen went a long way to helping the hosts into a six-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but a combined 15 down the stretch by Cutuk and Joe Mvuezolo hauled Maree back for a thrilling victory.

Killester were the only team to break the century mark on the opening night of the Men’s Super League, beating Bright St. Vincent’s 104-89 in the Oblate Hall.

Kason Harrell and Isiah Dasher accounted for 49 points, while Baptiste Chazelas soaked up 15 rebounds in this Dublin derby, as Killester outgunned a St. Vincent’s team, for whom Samuel Henderson netted 25 points and Charlie Coombes, JaRon Thames and Giorgi Tvalabeishvili each bagged 17.

In the Women’s Super League, a huge 31 points and 13 rebounds for Samantha Haiby went a long way to seeing Killester prevail 83-79 in a nail-biting opening-night headliner against SETU Waterford Wildcats in the Oblate Hall on Saturday.

Ready for battle ⚔️

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— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) October 5, 2024

In what was a repeat of last season’s Champion’s Trophy decider, the two sides were neck and neck throughout, with Ashia McCalla and Sarah Hickey combining for 47 points for the visitors.

Both Chelsea Cain and Hickey made their presence felt under the boards with a total of 21 rebounds for Wildcats, but even that was not enough to deny the defending champions, who edged three of the four quarters, with Ieva Bagdanaviciene chalking up 18 points and eight rebounds for the Dublin side.

“It’s as tough a start as you can have in this league” insisted Killester head coach, Mark Grennell. “Wildcats are really tough and play great basketball.

“I thought we were resilient in our play without being particularly fluid or in-sync. Sam Haiby was really excellent and controlled the big moments for us.

“It’s great to get that win and let’s hope we can get some early momentum going” he added.

FloMAX Liffey Celtics flexed their muscles from the second quarter on to record an emphatic 98-65 victory away to newly-promoted Utility Trust St. Paul’s on Saturday evening.

Ireland senior international, Sorcha Tiernan hit a game-high 25 points, while new signing, Alexis Tucker weighed in with 19, as the visitors fought back from six points down just over three minutes into the second quarter to card a 33-point triumph.

Megan Ormiston and Gracen Kerr did combine for 35 points in this curtain raiser to the 2024/25 Super League, but it was not enough to counter the fire-power of Celtics, for whom captain, Áine O’Connor and new recruit, Eboni Williams totalled 18 rebounds.

Catalyst Fr. Mathews had effectively bagged the points by the half-time break in their Super League opener against University of Galway Mystics on Saturday night, having carved out a massive 27-point lead on their way to a 96-57 victory in Fr. Mathews Arena.

Kyra White spearheaded their attack with 25 points, while Niamh Dwyer also made a significant contribution of 18, as last season’s Paudie O’Connor National Cup finalists stormed to a comfortable win, despite a combined 39 points by Keiarra Rivers and Shannon Cunningham for the visitors.